"The wealthy, not only by private fraud but also by common laws, do every day pluck and snatch away from the people some part of their daily living. Therefore, when I consider and weigh in my mind these commonwealths which nowadays do flourish, I perceive nothing but a certain conspiracy of rich men in procuring their own commodities under the name and authority of the commonwealth.
They invent and devise all means and crafts, first how to keep safely without fear of losing that which they have unjustly gathered together, and next how to hire and abuse the work and labor of the people for as little money and effort as possible."
Thomas More, Utopia
23 comments:
Lefty,how many boxes of kleenex did you go thru??
An interesting letter in the Australian Shooter Magazine:
"If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the
Iraq Theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112
deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.
The firearm death rate in Washington , DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the
same period. That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be shot and
killed in the US capital which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the
U..S., than you are in Iraq .
Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington .
Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington-Anon
Now that's what I would call some damn good advise.
The only thing I've seen more phony is Republicans saying they care about the working man.
I'll save my tears for Hugo Chavez.
"leftisthebest"
That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be shot and
killed in the US capital which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the
U..S., than you are in Iraq .
Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington .
7:45 AM
Those words of comfort will mean much to the families of deceased soldiers. Wake up!! It was an invasion done to make money for the rich.
"leftisthebest"
Like I posted over at our buddy, Rue-y. Saying Happy New Year today seems a bit trite with the death of Officer Lewis.
I will say though, thanks for all the information you provided in 2011.
"leftisthebest"
You're right Lefty that's a fucked up way for the year to end.
Stay safe.
Happy New Year LITB, and Coldy.
God bless you, and here's hoping you guys will knock off the Class Warfare non-sense and WAKE UP in 2012.
Happy New Year Rue.
As far as the class war goes it's not something we can "knock off" or even avoid given that the plutocrats are actively engaging one with us. Remember, we didn't clamor to bailout the Wall Street hustlers from the consequences of their reckless gambles in exchange for austerity measures and a decade (or more) of economic depression. That was a decision made solely by and for the benefit of our OWNERS.
Wishing you and yours a prosperous 2012.
Ha! Why do I bother...? I'm reading Che Guevara's letters right now and I'm stunned that the Left hasn't changed its propaganda, or ridiculous, rhetoric in almost 50 years. When Che stood before the UN in '63, he could have been reading the same script that Hugo Chavez regurgitated in 2006 when he dissed W as "the great devil."
Guess its easier to blame yourself than accuse some Third world despot.
http://pawatercooler.com/v3/?p=22696
Coldy - the fundamental kernel within Marxism that I detest is the contempt for the "bourgeoisie" and private property. When the government comes at you and uses the instrumentalities of regulation to take your hard-earned money, it is nothing more than theft. It is using words like "fair share" and "greed" to legitimize theft of your wealth.
Tell me, what "class" do you belong to? You'd no-doubt identify with the Middle one but what is that? Is there such a thing? I submit that there is not. This is not Bupal India where there are distinct class divisions that everyone knows about. That isn't part of our society, nor should it be.
The ineluctable (hows that for a $10 word) result of your philosophy is tyranny.
Look at your history: Russia, China, Venezuela, Cuba - all taken over by Marxists who wanted to start a revolution "for the good of the people" but they ended up murdering hundreds of millions all to feed their ridiculous utopian idea of "the workers paradise" and radical egalitarianism.
I know you disagree with me but if you sat down and had a couple beers with Obama, I bet you two would have MUCH in common.
Patria o Muerte!
Happy New Year to my Main "SUMO-nyms" CoLD-E, L3FTi, & of course ROO3Y! Sorry to have further dropped out of sight, been all over the medical, tired & feverish 4 MONTHS (may end up being mono-roseanne-barre-espstein-sweathog syndrome, have a face that rings a bell (bell's palsy))... You name it, it's been going wrong with me! Here's to a BETTER 2012 for us all! G-d Bless the BLUE BABIES! xoxo ;-)~
Happy New Year Slim-Shady. Hope you get better soon.
Hey Coldy -
Had a bit of time on my hands tonight and decided to visit your very first blog entry ("Maiden voyage" - Sept. 2006).
I noticed that in the comments area you wrote this:There are a lot of us out there who wish to see our country hold up the ideals of the Founding Fathers.
Do you realize that the Tea Party movement is ideologically aligned with the founders and the original intent of our constitution? I too lament how far our Ruling Class (forgive the satire) has gotten away from the restraints of the constitution.
But you are your comrades are the ultimate irony: you foment for a Marxist revolution, an over throwing of the capitalist system - never understanding that the linchpin of our republic is private property and individual sovereignty.
I want you to engage in a lighthearted compact with me. You pick ONE book for me to read, and I'll pick ONE book for you to read. We'll establish a 2-month deadline and then have a blog post debate (or book review) on the book that each of us read. What do you say? The book I have in mind for you is only about 100 pages.
Let me know...
I'll get back to you on this Rue. Stay tuned...
When the government comes at you and uses the instrumentalities of regulation to take your hard-earned money, it is nothing more than theft. It is using words like "fair share" and "greed" to legitimize theft of your wealth.-RSM
These are but ruling class talking points Rue employed to encourage the working class and the rapidly dissolving middle class to identify with those who "earn" their vast wealth off the labor of others. For starters, true wealth is the leisure to pursue one's interests without fear of want. That's it.
Fear of want.
This part is key Rue. Under capitalism we are given the "choice" between starvation and renting ourselves to others--in activities we often despise--in order to survive. It was not always thus. This system, now collapsing, was designed with a specific outcome in mind which has largely been achieved: the few in possession of the vast wealth created by the many.
Now that the "malefactors of great wealth" (FDR's term) have killed the golden goose and the edifice of debt which has replaced the actual Capital in what was once capitalism is collapsing around them the only thing left to loot are government systems themselves (Social Security trust, privatization of pubic services, etc) or promoting wars of conquest for resource extraction (Iraq, Libya, hopefully Iran) all the while leaving the domestic population to wither on the vine.
Tell me, what "class" do you belong to? You'd no-doubt identify with the Middle one but what is that? Is there such a thing? I submit that there is not. This is not Bupal India where there are distinct class divisions that everyone knows about. That isn't part of our society, nor should it be.-RSM
You delude yourself if you believe that there is no class distinction between us and Bill Gates, Jamie Dimon, or the Rockefeller clan. The rich, no matter their nationality since capital has little impediment to travel or influence, are practically a species unto themselves. Really Rue, have you been paying attention at all for the past four years? What lessons have you absorbed from the financial collapse and the taxpayer-funded bailouts of its architects?
You pick ONE book for me to read, and I'll pick ONE book for you to read. We'll establish a 2-month deadline and then have a blog post debate (or book review) on the book that each of us read.-RSM
I’m game. My selection for you is, wait for it...
Das Kapital vol 1
...which is of course the tome that got this ball rolling in the first place. I chose this because Marx’s masterpiece remains, nearly 150 years after it was published, the best study of capitalism ever written. I highly recommend that you do the close reading of this challenging work with David Harvey (City University of New York) whose video course is downloadable and completely free.
Thanks for accepting the challenge. I don't agree with your analysis; it seems more like you're making grand assumptions about "class distinctions". Bill Gates created an extremely useful product - and was thus compensated immensely for his time, talent and energies. I laud him for his ingenuity and ~ call it luck ~ that propelled him into the upper stratosphere of income earners.
I wish the same for you, and wouldn't begrudge you making millions legally. Look how many thousands are employed by people like Gates, and Buffett and the Koch brothers.
Demonizing such folks is wrong and detrimental. They should be admired and looked upon as examples to follow, not deride.
So I accept your offer of reading Das capital. I promise to read every word.
The book I would like you to read is Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin.
Let's make the reading deadline April 1st. Appropo, no? My library doesn't have your book so it may take a couple weeks for me to get my hands on it.
btw, I went over to Lenin's Tomb and posted my thoughts on their blog. They weren't as "open" as you are.
They called me a wanker and deleted my piece. I'm scarred for life! LOL
Things get a bit tense over at the Tomb but I'm surprised to hear that Richard deleted your post for that's generally not his style. In any event I'm looking forward to this project of ours.
Marx's tome has 1,100 pages. If I need more time, I'll let you know.
Not a problem Rue. Again, definitely use Harvey's course as you go through the book.
Ron Paul 2012!!
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